“He who is quick to borrow is slow to pay” (Old proverb) A recent High Court decision means that, for the first time, creditors of debtor companies are specifically cleared to apply for the company’s directors to be declared “delinquent” in certain circumstances. And that has significant implications for both directors and creditors. For directors [...]
“… for the benefit of immunity from liability for its debts, those running the corporation may not use its formal identity to incur obligations recklessly, grossly negligently or fraudulently. If they do, they risk being made personally liable.” (Quoted in the judgment below) Particularly in hard times, it is not at all uncommon to find [...]
“The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” (Spaghetti Western, 1966) A common myth – one that can get you into a whole lot of trouble if you aren’t alive to it - is that verbal contracts are not legally enforceable in South Africa. The opposite is true. With very few exceptions, our law will hold [...]
“Taxpayer: One who doesn’t have to pass a civil service exam to work for the government” (Anonymous) “Tax Freedom Day” is the first day of the year on which we South Africans (we’re talking about the “average” taxpayer here) have finally earned enough to pay off SARS and to start working for ourselves. This year [...]
“Signs of the "Great Resignation" are rippling across South Africa” (Business Insider report, 22 April 2022) The global pandemic-induced “Great Resignation” trend is upon us, and both employers and employees need to be aware of how our law views the whole question of employee resignation. A recent Labour Court decision gives some valuable guidance - [...]
“The criterion that harassment involves unwanted conduct distinguishes acts of harassment from acceptable conduct in the workplace” (extract from the Code, emphasis added) With effect from 18 March 2022, a new “Code of Good Practice on the Prevention and Elimination of Violence and Harassment in the Workplace” came into effect. Every employer and employee should know about it. The [...]
"Where one of the parties wishes to be absolved either wholly or partially from an obligation or liability which would or could arise at common law under a contract of the kind which the parties intend to conclude, it is for that party to ensure that the extent to which he, she or it is [...]
"When debtors once have borrowed all we have to lend, they are very apt to grow shy of their creditors' company" (John Vanbrugh) Bad debt is a major issue for many businesses in these hard economic times – not taking robust steps to collect it could be fatal to your own financial position. So if [...]
“…cybercrime has increased by over 300% during the COVID-19 pandemic - making it one of the biggest threats to businesses around the globe.” (Property 24 report) The Cybercrimes Act, which has been years in the making, is now (with effect from 1 December 2021) at last largely in force. Although some provisions still remain on [...]
“This is dishonest conduct of a kind which clearly negatively impairs upon a relationship of trust between an employer and employee.” (Extract from judgment below) An all-too-common complaint in workplaces comes from employers who notice a sudden surge in employees calling in sick on the day of a major sports fixture, or perhaps just on [...]
